Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus
which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the
governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more,
saying, Let him be crucified.

2.Mark 15:25

And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.

B.Even historical sources confirm
the execution of Jesus Christ. One of these sources is from a Roman historian
named Tacitus in Annals 15:44.

“Nero fastened the guilt of starting the blaze and inflicted the most
exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians
by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered
the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our
procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked
for the moment, again broke out only in Judaea, the first source of the evil,
but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the
world find their centre and become popular.”

1.Called Christians.

2.Christus was his name and the founder of the group.

3.Suffered the most extreme penalty (crucifixion) at
the hand of Pontius Pilate.

4.Was not favorable of Christianity for he called it a
mischievous superstition and an evil.

C.Christ crucified is grounded in
the Biblical narrative and is confirmed by secular historians. Christ
crucified was a real event!

D.The title of our lesson is:
“Christ Crucified.” Let look at five points in this lesson.

I.THE MAN

A.The man who was crucified was
named Jesus (Matt. 1:21), and was from the despised town of Nazareth in Galilee
(Matt. 2:23; John 1:46). His occupation was a carpenter (Mark 6:3).

B.He was as much a man as any of us (Heb. 2:14a).

Forasmuch as the children are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same…

1.He hungered (Matt. 4:1-2).

2.He thirsted (Matt. 19:28).

3.He grew weary (John 4:6).

4.He cried (John 11:35).

5.He could be and was tempted (Heb. 4:15).

C.He was a unique man, however, because he was also
God (I Tim. 3:16).

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifest in the flesh…

1.Some refer to this as the “dual nature” of Jesus.

2.He was a God-man.

3.It is a concept that is difficult for us to grasp in
its entirety.

a.God is a Spirit, but Jesus was made flesh.

b.God cannot be tempted with evil, but Jesus was
tempted.

c.God is eternal, but Jesus was born and died.

d.Paul described it in an interesting way in
Philippians 2:6-8.

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form
of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross.

D.Jesus was also an innocent man.

1.He committed no sin.

2.He violated no laws.

3.The only witnesses against Him were false witnesses.

4.The charges were false.

5.Pilate knew He was innocent and called him a “just
person” (Matt. 27:24).

8.Peter said that He was without blemish and without
spot (I Pet. 1:19).

II.THE METHOD

A.Jesus’ death was by crucifixion.

1.It was Persian in origin, but perfected by the
Romans.

2.It was shameful.

3.It was painful.

4.It was protracted.

5.It was fatal.

B.There are many articles that have been written that
describe all the things that happened to our Lord’s body as He suffered the
beating and crucifixion.

1.The wounds upon His body.

a.Scourged all over his backside with a Roman whip
(Matt. 27:26)

b.A crown of thorns on His head (Matt. 27:29)

c.Smote on the head with a reed (Matt. 27:31)

d.Nails in His hands and feet (Matt. 27:35)

e.A sword thrust through His side (John 19:34)

2.The pain:

a.Of a bruised body

b.Of torn flesh

c.The pressing upon open wounds

d.The constant rubbing up and down on the cross

e.The spasms in His hands, feet, legs, and arms

f.The inability to breath

g.The weight on his hands as He hung

h.The weight on His feet as He pushed up to breath

i.The joints are pulled out

j.The rapid heart beat

k.The lungs filled with fluid

l.The dehydration of the body

m.The mouth longs for water

n.Shock sets in

o.Excruciating pain happens in the chest as the sac
around the heart fills with fluid and presses on the heart.

p.The body reaches extremis and the chill of death
comes over the body.

3.Psalm 22:14-15

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of
joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My
strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and
thou hast brought me into the dust of the earth.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.

2.Romans 5:8

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

3.I John 3:16

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down
his life for us…

4.I John 4:9-10

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because
God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he love us, and sent his Son to
be the propitiation for our sins.

C.This love is described in several ways in the New
Testament:

1.A great love (Eph. 2:4)

2.Love which passeth knowledge (Eph. 3:19)

3.A love for enemies (Rom. 5:8, 10)

4.A sacrificial love (I John 3:16)

IV.THE MEANING

A.Jesus’ crucifixion met the demands of divine law.

1.Sin has death as a consequence (Ezek. 18:20).

2.Jesus was the only appropriate sacrifice.

a.He was a man.

b.He had no sin (I Pet. 2:22).

3.Isaiah 53:11

He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be
satisfied…

B.The sins of mankind could be forgiven.

1.Ephesians 1:7

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

2.Revelation 1:5b

Unto him that loved us, and washed us from his sins in his
own blood.

C.We are reconciled to God.

1.The word “reconciled” means “to make friendly
again.”

2.Romans 5:10

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by
the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life.

3.Colossians 1:21-22

And you, that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your
minds by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh
through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproachable in his
sight.

D.Man does not have to face the wrath of God.

1.Romans 5:9

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall
be saved from wrath through him.

2.I Thessalonians 1:10

And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from
the dead, which delivered us from wrath to to come.

V.THE MESSAGE

A.Two verses:

1.I Corinthians 1:23-24

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling
block, and unto the Greek foolishness; but unto them which are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

2.I Corinthians 2:1-2

And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with
excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring unto you the testimony of God. For
determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified.

B.The message of love displayed in the crucifixion is
designed to produce love in the hearts of the lost.